Endless Evolution: Last Star

Although, no, that was an incorrect comparison. A kitten could scratch a human, especially if its claws hit the eyes, but... The Triple-horned Buffalo was nothing compared to Adam.

Adam didn't even have to strain to hold a monster that weighed several hundred kilograms. In fact, the Triple-horned Buffalo could have made Adam tense up, at least take a step back if the monster had continued to try to ram Adam.

But, Adam's genes, on an instinctive level, suppressed the Triple-horned Buffalo, showing that it had no chance of winning. Gradually, Adam loosened his grip, not afraid that Triple-horned Buffalo would decide to attack.

Triple-horned Buffalo looked away only to meet the gazes of Alexia and Zera, who as well as Adam, could easily handle that problem.

Bam.

Before Triple-horned Buffalo came to its senses, the man with the shield slammed into the monster, drawing attention to himself.

"Hey! We're your opponents!" The man said confidently, ready to fight.

After all, Triple-horned Buffalo had not planned to attack Adam and the other Phantoms, it was a consequence of Layla dodging the monster's ram.

Turning to the man Triple-horned Buffalo was relieved. When Adam, Alexia, and Zera were in front of it, Triple-horned Buffalo felt like it was nothing, worse than an ant, their aura overwhelming, destroying it from the inside out.

However... now in front of it was a man with practically no aura - the simplest person any monster could handle!

Bam.

Layla's fist plunged into the Triple-horned Buffalo's jaw, from bottom to top, causing the monster to lose consciousness for a moment.

She continued to attack in one spot to give her ally a chance to deliver a critical attack!

"I'm here!" The swordsman exclaimed before thrusting his sword into the Triple-horned Buffalo's throat.

This was possible because Layla's hail of blows tore the monster's hide, lowering its defense and revealing its weaknesses.

Splash.

Streams of blood gushed from the Triple-horned Buffalo's mouth, flooding the ground, the monster's eyes went wide with incomprehension. It seemed like it was something unreal for the monster to lose to mere humans!

Bam.

The massive carcass fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust, under the gazes of the spectators.

Layla and the two men breathed a sigh of relief and shut down the generators. They were clearly tired after this fight, but they were not exhausted. They only needed a short break to regain their strength, thus they could fight on.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Soon, the entire arena was filled with applause.

People were thrilled with what the military had done. Sure, not everything went smoothly, but minor problems didn't matter over the fact that the military was able to kill the monster! They did it with gear, not huge stationary turrets!

The Phantoms weren't left out either. They respected the progress of the military and the work of the development department. They understood better than anyone how important and difficult a task it was to fight monsters.

However... in the eyes of the Phantoms, there wasn't the same enthusiasm as there was in humans. It wasn't that the Phantoms were afraid of being replaced or anything like that, the reason was simple - it wasn't enough.

'Hmm... It took training, teamwork, and three people to kill one White Threat Level monster, considering that that one is among the weakest.' Adam pondered, with a deep gaze.

It was the same opinion held by the others. At the moment, exoskeletons and FNs gave the military potential, but not actual power.

"It's actually impressive." Silvana said confidently.

"Hmm?" Adam gave her a questioning look. He recognized the effort and work done by the military, but this result couldn't be called anything significant.

"You should think of it as a first successful attempt rather than the end result. Sure, with this kind of performance, the military won't be able to handle even the simplest mission. If it's a small Nest, with only ten monsters, you'll need 30 to 50 military personnel. It's too irrational." Silvana said calmly.

Louis nodded with a slight smile on his face.

"All those military will be able to be replaced by one or at most two K0-Phantoms if they are Phantoms for more than a week. It's not that there are more Phantoms than military, just the opposite. However... it's unlikely that the development department has the capacity to equip even 1% of the military."

"Yeah... They have a lot of work to do before the military can take on some missions, even the simplest ones, but it would be a big step forward for all mankind." Zera sighed heavily.

Silvana continued:

"However, if the military can reach the point where one person can handle a single White Threat Level monster, then that changes everything completely. In that case, a group of ten military men will be able to clear a small Nest. Don't forget that this is only the first exoskeleton and its third version."

Adam nodded deeply as he looked intently at Layla.

He was one of the first of the Phantoms to see an exoskeleton in action. However, besides the exoskeleton and the FN, back then, Layla had something else. Amplifier - a capsule, with a special liquid and a long needle to inject into the body.

'Hmm... They weren't given Amplifier this time, with it, they can become even stronger. However, if it imitates Phantom's Resonance, it should put great pressure on their bodies. It's dangerous.'

Soon, several Phantoms carried the Triple-horned Buffalo away, and the military departed.

Zera, Kody, Katrin, and Alexia discussed what had happened, each having their own ideas and suggestions. They were curious to see what else the development department could create in the future!

At this time, Adam stepped aside, keeping an eye on Layla, who had gone far outside the arena and sat by the wall with a detached look. Fragments of the battle seemed to flash before her eyes.

A shadow fell over Layla as she tiredly raised her head.

"Hey." Adam waved his hand with a calm look.

Layla's eyes went wide. She hadn't expected to meet him here. They'd only seen Adam once, but it was enough to memorize each other.

"You fought well. Looks like this exoskeleton is a little better than the one you used against me earlier."

Layla glanced at Trici, who was sitting on Adam's head and looking at Layla with sparkling eyes.

Trici pointed at Layla and said:

"You're awesome! That bull was so big! But you were able to win! Although, my brother is still stronger!!!" Trici exclaimed vigorously.

Layla smiled, but... soon the smile distorted, slowly disappearing from her face.

Then, her eyes got wet, and tears flowed from them, with such force that Layla couldn't stop them, though she tried to do so.

"Brother... Did I do something wrong...?" Trici worriedly asked. She decided that she was guilty of this.

Adam shook his head, "I doubt it..."

"I... I was so scared!" Layla exclaimed, staring at Adam like an innocent child who met the cruel side of life for the first time.